June 12, 2011

Lemon and pea risotto recipe

What if I told you that learning to make risotto is nothing more than a con game? Would you believe me? Well, it's true. "Con" stands for confidence, and that's the secret to great risotto. Confidence, and knowing that you need to stop cooking while there is still a bit of liquid in the pan. One success and you will never fear risotto again! And the best part is that almost all risotto is made exactly the same way, give or take a mix-in ingredient here or there. So, when you can make one, you can make them all. This lemon and pea risotto strikes a bright balance between the rich rice and the tart citrus, and if you don't like peas, go ahead and substitute asparagus.

Directions

Bring the broth to a steady simmer in a saucepan on top of the stove, or in the microwave.

In a heavy 4-quart pot, heat the butter and oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the rice, and stir to coat the grains. Remove pan from the heat; add lemon juice and wine, and stir (be careful, the liquid might splatter when it goes into the pan). Return the pan to the burner. When the liquid is mostly absorbed, begin adding stock, 1 cup at a time, waiting for each to absorb almost entirely before adding more.

When you add the final cup of stock, add the peas. When the liquid is almost absorbed, remove the pan from heat and stir in the half-and-half or butter, and cheese. Serve hot.

This looks lovely. I do enjoy the taste of lemon with the fresh green vegetables of spring. I used to make risotto a lot on my electric stove, and yearned for the day when I could really control the heat from a gas flame. Now, I've had a gas stove for a year or more, and haven't made a single batch of risotto!

Making this tonight! With the asparagus option. And that is lemon zest on top in the picture, right? It's not in the recipe but if I'm juicing lemons I'm sure as hell using the zest too.
Risotto was actually one of the first things I learned to cook well. I never got why it was supposed to be scary, it's just take time.

I love making risotto. My fav is to add some thawed winter squash to the chicken stock. delish! After seeing this recipe it made me think that adding garlic scapes from the farm market might be good too! I just discovered them and I want to try them in EVERYTHING! Last night was grilled pizza. Wow - that was a tangent if ever I saw one but thanks for the idea for 2 new risottos!

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